All of our courses have laboratory sections taught by the professors. Classes are small, so each student receives hands-on experience with modern research equipment. For classes with a field component, Stetson's central location offers many opportunities for study in such places as the Ocala National Forest, Canaveral National Seashore, Blue Springs State Park, and the Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge.

One of the many benefits of Stetson's small size is that each student performs a senior research project with a faculty member before graduation. Students begin preparing for the project during their sophomore year by taking Biostatistical Methods I and II. These courses train students to design experiments, to collect and analyze data, and to write an effective report. As juniors, students choose research topics and faculty mentors and write a formal research proposal. Then, as seniors, students carry out an original research project that has been tailored to their personal interests. Although most projects are completed in a faculty mentor's laboratory, some students complete projects off campus in hospitals, laboratories, doctor's offices, etc.

Students are encouraged to begin their research over the summer between their junior and senior years, particularly as part of Stetson's Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE), which provides funding for equipment, room and board, and travel. All Biology majors are encouraged to present the results of their research at our Undergraduate Research and Creative Arts Symposium (SURCAS) and at other scientific forums, such as state and national conferences.

Titles of some of the 2009 student research projects:

Neurobiological studies

• The effects of blocking metabotropic glutamate receptors in the parabrachial nucleus on taste reactivity behaviors in conscious rats

• The effects of blocking cholecystokinin receptors in the parabrachial nucleus on taste reactivity behaviors in conscious rats
  

• Identification of neurons in the parabrachial nucleus that give rise to ascending and descending projections.  

Microbiological studies

• Growth inhibitory properties of herbal extracts towards biofilm producing oral bacteria

• The effect of Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii on mosquito larvae

Medical studies

• The prevalence of and risk factors associated with Type 2 diabetes in young and old African American adults

Terrestrial ecological studies

• Sex ratios of pigmy rattlesnake (Sistrurus miliarius) offspring

• Curtiss' milkweed (Asclepias curtissii) seedlings favor the close association of neighboring shrubs in Lyonia Preserve, Deltona, Florida

• Preferential use of first magnitude spring runs in Florida by the limpkin (Aramus guarauna)
  

Aquatic studies

• A comprehensive look at the movements, feeding behavior, and diet of longnose gar (Lepisosteus osseus) in Blue Spring State Park, Orange City, Florida

• Role of the microtubule binding domain in p150Glued during mitosis of vertebrate cells

Student Presentations at Local and National Meetings

Student Publications

Learn more about undergraduate research at Stetson

• Neurobiology
• Reptile Ecology
• Aquatic and Marine Biology
• Plant Population Genetics
• Molecular Biology

Photos by Kirsten Work and Terry Grieb